Garfield Nurses Victorious Over Union Buster

Nurses Organize to Improve Care
Employer hires a Union Buster

February 2001

By Jon Lepie, Director of Organizing, SEIU Local 535

The union files unfair labor complaints against Garfield Hospital management.

Union-busting is a growth industry. When management at Garfield Hospital heard the registered nurses were talking to a union, the first thing they did was to hire a union-buster. The changes were immediate and dramatic.

First came the carrot. Nurses were told they were to get raises. Then they were promised more raises in the future. Administrators who had never been seen in a patient care area were suddenly walking the units, talking to nurses and asking to hear what their problems were. Administrators even did the unthinkable and showed up to talk to nurses on the night and evening shifts. Change was everywhere.
The nurses were not taken in. Over the next few weeks almost 85% of them signed cards asking for Local 535 to represent them and become their union. On November 9, 2000, Local 535 organizers petitioned the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election so the nurses could vote for union representation.

Then came the stick. Nurses were pulled off their assignments and forced to go alone into offices where they were confronted by several supervisors. There, they were asked to confess if they supported the union, asked to inform on their co-workers who were union supporters. And that was just the beginning.

Over the next 10 weeks, union busters subjected the nurses to a campaign of harassment and intimidation. They were forced into twice weekly meetings where managers promised they would never recognize a union and never negotiate a contract. Managers, trained by the union busters, threatened that the wage increases they had just promised would be taken away. They barraged nurses with hours of lies about unions – all unions were supposed to be corrupt, unions are only interested in collecting dues, nurses would lose their jobs for disagreeing with union policies or breaking union rules.
Nurses identified as union supporters were singled out for harsh treatment. One union supporter was suspended for three days for removing an anti-union flyer from a bulletin board. Another was sent home for ‘lack of work’ while the hospital had an outside registry nurse do her job.

Some nurses were singled out by management for special treatment. The hospital CEO met with these nurses for hours and hours of private conversations. Of course, witnesses are not available, but rumors abound that each of these nurses was subjected to intense pressure. On the one hand, they are said to have been promised big improvements for themselves and their co-workers, but only if they could deliver a vote against Local 535. All sorts of reprisals are said to have been threatened if the vote went for the union.

Short of firing people, there is hardly any labor law this employer did not violate. As director of organizing, this was the most difficult campaign I have seen in 30 years of union work.

Egg Rolls and Unity

Organizer Gerry Villero, who was born in the Philippines, has positive memories of how the union helped bring the nurses together. “We were meeting at one of the nurses’ houses,” said Villero, “and I saw a Chinese nurse turn to Irene Medina, a Latina nurse. The two of them had worked in the same hospital for 25 years, but were finally getting to know one another.”

“The first time we met at Joanne Kawai’s house,” added Villero, “I brought a pizza, but nobody ate any. I thought for sure they were hungry because they had all just come off a 12-hour shift. Then I figured it out, and the next meeting I brought noodles and egg rolls. Instead of breaking bread together, we broke noodles.”

Management Tries to Take Advantage of Immigrants

Almost all of the nurses at Garfield are first generation immigrants, mostly from China and the Philippines, and most of the patients are immigrants as well. “I can serve them better because I can talk to them in Chinese. I feel like it is my home,” states recovery nurse Daisy Lee, a 25-year veteran of the hospital.

Garfield is one of the most profitable in the for-profit Tenet chain, netting over $30 million last year. In order to make profits like that, far over the Tenet average, the hospital has paid its nurses less than other area hospitals and provided fewer staff. “They just take, take, take to get more profits. They don’t care about the quality of care,” said one of the nurses.

Garfield nurses get community support. Rally for nurses featuring Miguel Contreras, LA County Federation of Labor; Judy Chu (speaking), Monterey Park City Councilmember; Paul Koretz, State Assemblymember; and Gloria Romero, State Assemblymember.

Management also tried to play on racism. For example, Chinese nurses were told that “the union is just for Filipinos.”

Nurses Stick Together, But Now Face Legal Delays

In the end, the majority of nurses saw through the lies, rejected the racist appeals, and voted for the union. In response, the hospital has threatened to ignore the election results and to refuse to recognize the union. Already, they have filed pages of appeals and objections to the election. Several attorneys are working on the employer side and may be successful in delaying issuance of the final tally for months.

“If management thinks the nurses are just going to sit back and do nothing, they are dead wrong,” said organizer Jim Moreau. “We have all sorts of plans, and these nurses are a powerful group.”